More Than Just Friends
by weaselygurl
Summary: A story about . . . well, about Ron & Hermione, and Harry & Ginny. It's a fluffadventure kind of story . . . just read it please!
1. Ginny

A/N Ok, this story will be from several different POV's! It's Harry Ron & Hermione's 6th year, Ginny's 5th. Oh yeah, and I don't like that Voldemort came back, so for the purposes of this story, everything's like it was before Harry's fourth year. Plz review!!!  
  
Disclaimer – I don't own anything familiar to you peoples. Ginny   
  
I was stressing. I wanted to find out who the Gryffindor Prefect would be, and I wanted to find out soon. See, normally, I wouldn't be concerned about this sort of thing, I wouldn't want to be Prefect. Sure, I wouldn't complain if I got the badge, but then I'd have to face Fred and George. But I also wanted the badge to impress someone. Someone by the name of Harry Potter. Even though he hadn't gotten Prefect, it would still be nice if I did.  
  
Ok, now I'm totally rambling about it. Harry would think I was crazy if he knew everything that was going through my head. He probably already thinks I'm an idiot. Every time I try to talk to him, I get tongue tied. Everything I say to him comes out wrong it never comes out right. So I say why don't you and I get together, take on the world, be together forever – oops. Sorry about that. Hermione sent me a CD of a Muggle singer, and that's one of my favorite songs.  
  
Well, Harry's at our house again. I can see him and Ron out practicing Quidditch from the window. Unfortunately, Hermione's here, so I can't sit and stare at him. Maybe I can suggest that we go out and watch them play. Yeah, that would work. Then nobody would suspect anything.  
  
"Hey, you want to go out there and watch them play?" I asked, trying to sound like it was just a casual question. Hermione jumped, accidentally knocking a book off of the table. She turned slightly red as she put it back.  
  
"Sure," she agreed, and I couldn't help smiling. As long as no one knew about my secret, I was all right. We walked towards the field quickly. As soon as we reached the boys, Ron (being the lovable blockhead of a brother he is) called, "Hey Ginny, come do chaser so I can practice Keeping!" Oh, I wanted to slug him. I would've given anything to yell right back that I wanted to be on Harry's team, but I bit my tongue.  
  
"Hermione, come do Keeper for me!" Harry said. Hermione seemed kind of disappointed, but that wasn't surprising. She didn't like playing Quidditch. Besides, I was busy watching Harry, sitting on his broomstick with his feet and few inches off the ground. He looked at me and grinned, and my heart melted. I know it sounds cheesy, but I love his smile! Ron once again interfered with my daydreaming.  
  
"Hurry up, Ginny!" he shouted as he shot upward. Big brothers can be a real pain sometimes.  
  
I mounted my broomstick, determined to impress Harry. The four of us went up to playing level, and Harry tossed me the Quaffle.  
  
I dropped it.  
  
I couldn't believe it. I had dropped it! And it was a perfect pass! Diving after it, I felt my face turn crimson. Harry didn't say anything, he just waited for me to start playing. I took a deep breath and went into another dive, hoping to get past him. Luckily for me, he was a little slow turning around, and I had a clear path to the goal. Then, Harry came up beside, his shoulder touching mine as he tried to get in front of me. That blew all my concentration, and I took a blind shot. Amazingly enough, it went right through Hermione's arms! I was surprised – we had found that she was a pretty good Keeper, and that had been and easy block. But hey, I wasn't going to complain.  
  
"Good shot, Gin!" Harry said, clapping me on the back. I looked into his green eyes – which I think are absolutely beautiful, by the way – and smiled back at him.  
  
The rest of the game was a lot like that – meaning, I lost it every time Harry got near me. Even though I spent half the game watching him, I played fairly good.  
  
The next morning, I woke up early and walked to the kitchen. Harry was out there already! I would've backed out and gone back to my room, but he saw me.  
  
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked me. I nodded, not trusting my voice. "Yeah, me neither. You worried about something?"  
  
You have no idea, I thought, then suddenly I backtracked. Does he know? Mentally, I shook myself. There was no way he could know. Suddenly, I realized that he was still waiting for an answer. "Oh, um, not really." Liar.  
  
Harry nodded and looked out the window. "Our Hogwarts letter should be here soon. Think you'll get Prefect?" Holy cow. This boy was hitting all the right spots, and he didn't know it.  
  
"I dunno," I replied. "Depends on if they decide I'm like Fred and George or one of my other brothers." This was actually kind of a sore spot with me. I hated being the last one in my family. Everyone judged me on how my brothers acted. At the moment, though, I was finding it hard to be mad at all. What did I have to complain about? Harry and I were alone in the same room, with no Ron to butt in and no Hermione to listen to us talk. Tell him, my brain urged me, tell him that you love him, that you've been daydreaming about him for ages. I just couldn't do it. Before I worked up enough nerve to talk to him again, Fred and George came in.  
  
"Uh oh," Fred smirked, "looks like we just cut in on a private moment, George."  
  
"Shut up," Harry and I said together. My ears were turning red, and I leaned my head on my hands, trying to hide them. The twins were now going on about their joke shop. Normally I would have been interested – I've even invented some of the things they sell – but all I wanted now was to be alone with Harry again.  
  
I didn't get my wish that morning. Everyone came downstairs one at a time, and soon, Mum was making breakfast. I'm sure it was delicious, but see, Harry sat next to me and – enough said.  
  
"Here comes your letters!" Bill called over the chatter. An owl came through the window carrying four envelopes with the Hogwarts crest on them.  
  
"So who d'you think the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is?" Ron wondered through a mouthful of bacon.  
  
"Dunno," Harry replied, scanning the letter. "Doesn't say."  
  
Frankly, Defense teachers gave me the creeps. There's only one that we've ever had that wasn't trying to hurt Harry in some way or another. Actually, the one in my first year doesn't really count. He tried to wipe Harry and Ron's memories when they were trying to rescue me. But that's a long story, so I won't tell it here. Anyway, Lupin is the only good teacher we've ever had in that class, but he can't teach now that everyone knows he's a werewolf.  
  
"Should we go to Diagon Alley this afternoon?" Mum said, breaking into my thoughts. "That way, you can have a vacation of sorts before school starts." We all agreed, happy to be able to go somewhere new. It got boring staying home all summer.  
  
Later that evening, after we had all packed, we stood in front of the fire, waiting for Dad to find the Floo powder. He looked through most of the cupboards before remembering that it was on top of the shelves.  
  
"Now, who's first?" he asked cheerfully. "Guests, I suppose."  
  
He held the powder out to Hermione, who took it hesitantly. She stepped into the flames, closed her eyes tightly, and shouted, "Diagon Alley!"  
  
Once she was gone, Harry followed. Ron and I both volunteered to go next, so I took a pinch and was off before anyone could stop me. Unfortunately, I got a nose full of soot when I went, and I had to sneeze. Frantically, I tried to stop it without moving, thinking of an elephant. And yes, that usually works, but not this time. I came out of the fireplace in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by books. I stood up slowly, sore from my rough landing, and examined the books. They all had strange titles, like Uniblum's Klane. Every title was absolute gibberish.  
  
A sound behind me startled me, and I spun around. An old man with shadowy eyes was walking towards me. Whatever it was he wanted, I was sure than I didn't want to find out, so I ran for the door. Once I was outside, I started to take a deep breath, then gagged. The air smelled horrible! This place was a complete dump! I think the streets were made of stone, but they were covered with a foul substance that I really didn't want to think about. Piles of trash were all around me. For a minute, I just stood there, not sure which way to go. Then, I saw a group of people in hooded cloaks walking towards me, so I turned and ran the other direction. The street ahead of me was clogged with evil-looking people! Quickly, I decided to take my chances with the smaller number of people, and I turned around again and ran as fast as I could. Closing my eyes, I bulled my way through the group. Someone grabbed my shoulder, but I somehow got away.  
  
Once I dared to open my eyes again, I glanced over my shoulder. They were running after me! I wanted to scream, "What'd I ever do to you?!!" back at them, but I needed to save my breath. It was hard enough to breathe already with that awful stench in the air. Reaching a corner, I turned sharply, hoping to gain a little bit more space between me and my fan club. I didn't get two steps down the new street before I ran into someone head- on.  
  
"Gin! What's wrong?"  
  
Harry! He'd come to rescue me! However, I didn't have time to savor the moment. "Run!" I yelled, pulling him forward as he caught sight of the mob. We ran down the street, turning another corner farther down. When I tried to go straight, Harry pulled me into a small gap between the buildings. We stood there while the crowd passed us by. I pressed backwards, trying to get as far away from them as possible. Harry put a protective arm around me, and my stomach leaped. I felt better now, but I wasn't about to move until everyone had passed by.  
  
When it was finally safe to go out, I was a little disappointed. At least we were safe. Harry led me down several streets, and into Diagon Alley.  
  
"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, running over to us. "What happened?"  
  
Everyone was standing there, looking pale and worried. I shrugged apologetically. "I sneezed."  
  
It was dead quiet for a second; then, Harry began to laugh. I couldn't stop it, so I joined him. Soon, everyone except Mum was laughing. She was still pale, but looked like she was getting angry. I could see the lecture coming, so I changed the subject.  
  
"Let's go buy our stuff before all the Hogwarts students get here, shall we?" I suggested, starting to walk away. Ron, Harry, and Hermione followed quickly, avoiding Mum's glare. Even after being chased by a bunch of crazy people and narrowly escaping one of Mum's lectures, I was in an exceptionally good mood. A/N So is it good? Plz review! 


	2. Ron & Harry

A/N This chapter is dedicated to H.S. I love you!!!  
  
Disclaimer – I don't own Harry Potter or any related stuff that you recognise. Ron  
  
I was in a good mood. Why? Why was I in a good mood after being scared to death about my little sister and getting awfully close to one of my mum's lectures?  
  
Because I was with Hermione.  
  
Ok, I'm not the mushy type, but I can't help it. Whenever I'm around her, I feel like I'm floating. I've known for a long time that she's more than a friend to me, but I've never had the nerve to say anything about it. She's just so –  
  
You know what? I'm going to stop talking about it before I completely do murder to how I feel. I'll just tell you the facts.  
  
While we walked down the street in Diagon Alley, I was quiet. I mean, what was I supposed to say? "Oh, uh, nice weather we're having." Nuh-uh. Doesn't work like that. No one was talking. Finally, I couldn't take the silence anymore.  
  
"So, where do you want to go first?"  
  
Whew. I had said it without sounding like an idiot. Better still, Hermione was the first to answer.  
  
"How about Flourish and Blotts?" she suggested. "It's the closest shop."  
  
Unfortunately for us, someone else had decided to go book shopping at the same time, a stupid little weasel named Malfoy. Actually, a stupid little bouncing ferret, as I liked to think of him.  
  
"Going on a date to the book shop?" he sneered. "Has your mummy decided that you're big enough to date now? Or did you just run away from her? She's fat enough, you shouldn't have had much trouble getting away."  
  
I hated this little worm. Hated him with all my guts. Right now was the perfect opportunity to show him how much I hated him, and I did. That first punch was so satisfying.  
  
"Ron!"  
  
I heard Hermione say my name, but hey, I was winning the fight. Now was not the time to back off, especially since Malfoy hadn't even managed to hit me once. However, she made me pause for a second, and that gave him the advantage. His foot shot out and hit me in an extremely painful place.  
  
"Ron!"  
  
Harry shouted it this time, while I fell off to one side. Malfoy stood quickly, apparently afraid that Harry would take my place in fighting him. Even through my pain, I was glad to see bruises already appearing on Malfoy's pale face. He ran out of the shop, probably going to find his daddy to defend him. I had no doubt that he was going to try and get even.  
  
Harry  
  
Once Ron had recovered somewhat, we bought our books and left. The man at the counter was giving Ron dirty looks, probably for starting a fight in his store. I didn't see the big deal about it. It wasn't like they had done any damage. But anyway. . .  
  
As soon as we were outside, we spotted Mrs. Weasely running toward us. At first, I thought she was determined to give us a piece of her mind, but she was smiling.  
  
"They're having a big party tonight!" she said when she reached us, trying to catch her breath. "It will be so much fun! I already got us some tickets for it, so be sure to meet us back at Gringotts before 6:00!"  
  
With that, she was off again, probably to tell Fred and George. We all stared after her, then looked at each other and shrugged.  
  
"Might be fun," Ron said. "Hey look – is that an ad for it over there?"  
  
He pointed to a piece of parchment hung up in the window of Ollivanders, and we walked over to see what it was.  
  
"Look," Hermione pointed, "it's just for Hogwarts students. Sort of a back-to-school thing, I suppose."  
  
"You don't think Malfoy will be there, do you?" Ginny asked. She was still angry about not getting a chance at Malfoy in Flourish and Botts. I shook my head.  
  
"He's too sour for a thing like this," I told her. "The fun would probably kill him."  
  
"We only have another half-hour before it starts," Ron said, checking his watch. "What should we do until then?"  
  
"Ice cream?" I suggested, and the other three agreed.  
  
There's nothing really to tell about the next half-hour, unless you want to hear what we all got. Ron and I got Supreme Shakes, with a little bit of everything sprinkled on it, while Ginny and Hermione settled for plain chocolate. Anyway, it was kind of boring.  
  
When we got to where the party was to be held, I was surprised. There was a big circle of smoothed cement surrounded by grass. Mrs. Weasely handed each of us our tickets and told us to go get our shoes. I looked at Ron, completely confused.  
  
"Shoes?"  
  
"This must be one of those things," he said. Well, that helped a lot.  
  
"Thanks for the insight," I replied, rolling my eyes.  
  
"They give you these shoes that sort of float," he explained. "Then you go out and – oh man, it's kind of hard to explain."  
  
"It's like," Hermione started, then stopped, thinking. "It's sort of like skating, except there's no wheels. It's hard to do at first, but you'll get the hang of it."  
  
We got our "floating shoes" and pulled them on. After tying the laces, I tried to stand up, then fell back hard. Ron was laughing as he pushed himself up expertly. It took a minute, but I eventually got up and stood unsteadily.  
  
"Come on, let's go," Ron grinned, setting off for the smooth cement at a fast pace. His shoes never touched the ground – he just sort of glided. I took a step carefully, then another. Soon, it was coming easily. Hermione was right – it was a lot like skating. Not that I'd had much practice skating. The last time I had been allowed on in-line skates was Dudley's seventh birthday party. Mrs. Figg had allowed me to try out a pair of roller blades that I had found in her closet. Still, it wasn't hard to do.  
  
We spent a long time out there. They had the Weird Sisters playing on the side, so we enjoyed the music and talked as we went around and around the circle. We played some games and raced, too. Suddenly, the music stopped, and someone got on the magical microphone.  
  
"We're going to play a few slow songs now, so find your partner. Everyone who doesn't want to couple up, please stay to the side until the slow songs are done."  
  
The announcement startled me, and I began to go off to the side. Then, I stopped, because I saw Ginny looking at me. Smiling at her, I offered my arm, and she took it, smiling back. Behind me, I heard Ron asking Hermione to go with him, and she accepted. The songs they played were good, but I hardly heard them. While I went around the circle, holding hands with Ginny, everything else was tuned to the background. Why? Because I had just discovered something.  
  
I was in love with Ginny.  
  
A/N Good? Plz review! 


	3. Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters you recognize.

**Hermione**

I woke up the next morning and was instantly reliving the night before, when I "skated" with Ron. Closing my eyes again, I sighed happily. Ginny stirred in a bed a few feet away, and I tried to regain my composure. I hadn't told anyone how I felt about Ron, even Ginny, who was the closest friend I had that was a girl. It wasn't that I didn't trust her, but "girl talk" always made me feel awkward, which was why I usually preferred to talk to guys. Unfortunately, no matter how wonderful Ron may be, he and Harry seem to not understand that girls can have a wide variety of emotions, while they have one or two.

"You awake?" Ginny asked sleepily from her bed. One eye opened, and she squinted at the light coming through the window. "I supposed Mum will be coming in soon to get us up. We're leaving for Hogwarts today."

Hogwarts. Right. That was why I was here, not to drool over Ron. As if on cue, Mrs. Weasley knocked on the door. "Time to get up, girls, we've got to get to the station!"

"We're up, Mum," Ginny called back, pulling the sheets back up to her chin and yawning. After a moment, she sat up and ran her fingers through her tousled red hair. "Are you packed?"

"Yes."

"Ok. We should probably get ready, then."

It took us about an hour to get ready to go. By that time, the boys had finished packing, and the rest of the family was at breakfast. "You'd best hurry down," Mrs. Weasley called as she walked by, "or Ron will eat it all before you get to see it." Despite the warning, we spent a few more minutes to finish up. As we walked down the stairs, we could see that there wasn't much food left. It didn't matter, though; I wasn't all that hungry.

"Hey, Ginny, Tom says your shower dried up the water supply," Fred teased. He and George had dropped in to say goodbye.

"That's a shame," Ginny replied. "If you're thirsty, I'm sure you can get some water from the toilet."

"Come, now." Mrs. Weasley got between the two. "Fred, if you and George want to be useful, you can go get the girls' trunks."

"Sure thing, Mum." The twins flicked their wands, and two trunks floated down the stairs. "Anything else?"

"Not at the moment." Mrs. Weasley turned back to us. "You girls had better pick up some food and head out to the car, we've been waiting on you."

**Ginny**

As I walked out to the car, I remembered something that last night had completely driven out of my mind. My Hogwarts letter had come without a badge. Now that I thought about it, though, I was glad. I didn't want the responsibility, and there were other ways to make an impression. Harry and Ron sat in the back of Dad's new car, while Hermione and I sat in the front with Dad. Mum remained behind. Even though there was plenty of room in the car – Dad hadn't been able to resist making it a little bit bigger on the inside – she didn't want to make the trip, especially with Ron and Harry's newest idea. They had formed a band, along with Dean and Seamus, and were already making plans to become at least as popular as the Weird Sisters. Ron had his bass guitar (which he had worked hard all the previous summer to earn the money for) and Harry had some paper to write the lyrics for a song they had been working on. Harry played guitar as well as being the lead singer, but he had decided that Ron's bass was good enough for the car ride.

"That won't work, it doesn't match the beat with the first part of the song," I heard him tell Ron as the car started to move. "Just change a couple lines –" I heard scribbling, and then Ron spoke.

"That's perfect, Harry! Is that the end of it?"

"I suppose so. It's already a little longer than most of our songs."

"Yeah, but our first songs are short and nothing to talk about."

"Did you girls get enough sleep last night?" I had been listening to Ron and Harry so hard that I forgot my dad was sitting next to me.

"Oh yeah, plenty," I replied, looking over at him.

"You look like you're still half-asleep," he told me.

"Just thinking," I answered, a little embarrassed that he had noticed me zoning out. "I might sleep a little on the way."

"Good idea," Hermione said on my other side. She was already leaning against the window. I saw her glance at the mirror, and I grinned as I realized she was watching Ron tune his guitar. She turned back, and I quickly wiped the smile away. Conversation in the front seat stopped, and I was able to listen to the boys again.

"Do you have the tune down?" Harry was asking.

"Mostly. Same way we practiced it back at home, right?"

"Except for this measure right here, remember?"

"Got it. Let's go."

Ron played the introduction, and I closed my eyes and could pick out when Harry's guitar part was supposed to start. It was one of their slower songs. After a few measures, Harry started singing.

"We met inside a war zone with everything between us, but there was never any two that had that bond of trust . . . "

As I listened, I slowly became aware that I really was tired. The song was almost over when I fell asleep, not reawakening until we reached the station. When Dad shook me awake, I stretched and looked in the back seat. Ron wasn't holding his guitar anymore, and it looked like they were barely waking up again as well.

"What happened to band practice?" I asked as we got out of the car.

"Dad made us stop playing so you two could sleep." Ron rolled his eyes.

"Well, seems like you guys got some sleep as well."

"If you want to stand there, help me out."

"It's your guitar, you carry it." I walked to the back of the car and pulled out my trunk. Once everything was loaded onto trolleys, we walked quickly to Platform 9 ¾. It was already almost eleven, so we went through two at a time and left Dad standing outside the platform.

We boarded the train and found an empty compartment. The compartment quickly got crowded as Dean found them, and Harry and Ron pulled out their guitars. I would have loved to stay, but Hermione suddenly remembered that she had something of Lavender's and asked me to help find her. I agreed somewhat reluctantly, but we hadn't gone through three compartments when a seventh year girl named Erica asked for some help on the homework she had from the summer. I didn't especially want to stick around for that, so I continued through the train. Even now, I couldn't stop thinking about Harry. Did he like me as well, or had he just asked me to go with him as a friend at the Diagon Ally party? Guys gave me headaches. And what a surprise, I had just found the biggest headache of them all.

"Going somewhere, Weasley?" Malfoy asked, leaning casually against the wall and blocking my way forward.

"As a matter of fact, I was," I replied, bored from the repetitive insults that Malfoy always had for me. "Have you seen Lavender Brown anywhere?"

"I might have," he said softly, staring at me without blinking. "Why are you looking for her?"

"Why should I tell a ferret like you?"

The ferret thing was still a sore point with him, and for a moment his eyes showed traces of anger. He controlled himself quickly, though. He was much better about that than he used to be. In some ways, this Malfoy was worse than the younger Malfoy because it was harder to see the shifts in emotion. His eyes devoid of any feeling, he smiled slowly. The attitude was just creepy, so I decided to quit talking to him. I walked forward and tried to shoulder my way past. He grabbed my shoulder and held me there. The strength of his arm was incredible, but I didn't let it daunt me.

"Shove off, Malfoy," I said angrily.

"Or what? You'll scream for help?"

"She doesn't need to." Harry stood behind me. I was embarrassed. I didn't want him to have to save me from a little worm like Malfoy.

"Dang straight, I don't," I added, and kicked Malfoy in the shin as hard as I possibly could. He swore and let go, drawing his hand back. As it came forward to hit me, I leaned back and caught it. Wrenching his hand out of my grasp, he pulled out his wand and found Harry's wand at his throat. Crabbe and Goyle, who hadn't made a sound this whole time, looked at each other uncertainly. Malfoy recovered himself and forced a smirk.

"I'll see you at Hogwarts, Potter, Weasley." As he pushed by us, followed by his two cronies, I was pleased to see that he was limping.


	4. Alex & Harry

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters you recognize.

**Harry**

"Nice kick, Gin," I said with a smile. "I'm surprised you didn't break his shin." That was the truth, too. She had a strong leg. Last year, she had kicked a Quaffle from one end of the field to the other, and even made it through one of the goals. Just like her brother, only she had done it on purpose.

"I thought you were practicing," she replied questioningly.

"We were," I replied, "but Seamus hasn't found us yet, so I'm looking for him. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she said, brushing it off as if it were no big deal. "Do you need some help finding –" Just then, Seamus walked out of a compartment a few feet ahead.

"Seamus! We've been looking for you," I said, wondering why he had chosen this moment to appear. I wanted to talk to Ginny alone for a few minutes, without anyone to butt in. This was incredibly hard to do, especially with Ron. He was a great friend and everything, but there were times when I wondered how he would ever get a girlfriend. Every time I lost the chance to talk to Ginny, I got more and more nervous about doing it.

"Have you guys started practice already? I had some work I had to finish off," Seamus explained.

"We started, but it sounded weird with your part missing," I replied, turning to walk back down the hall. I tried to look casually over my shoulder at Ginny. "D'you want to come?"

"Sure," Ginny replied, shrugging nonchalantly. Where was Hermione when I needed an interpreter! Normally, I would've thought nothing about an innocent comment or gesture from a girl, but Hermione had recently pointed out so many tiny indications that I was paranoid about anything Ginny said or did. Not that I was willing to show it. I responded with equal casualness, walking back to the compartment by her and Seamus. We had to push through a small crowd that was gathering around our compartment, and Ginny started to fall behind. People weren't letting her through. I paused for a moment to put my arm around Ginny's shoulders and pushed through the crowd again, bringing her with me.

"Took long enough," Ron said, playing a chord on his guitar.

"What's with the audience?" I asked, slightly nervous. We hadn't ever really performed in public, and I was a little reluctant to sing in front of the people.

"They heard us warming up and started to gather," Dean grinned, spinning his drumsticks. "Get ready for your first live performance, boys."

"There's not going to be enough room for three guitars in here, Harry, so you can just sing," Ron said, which was fine by me. My hands were shaking – not really from anxiety, more from the fact that I had actually gone out of my way to put my arm around Ginny. I was dying to look at her and see what she was thinking, but I didn't have the nerve.

Ron began to play the beginning of one of our songs, and Seamus and Dean joined in. The crowd quieted quickly, and I leaned against the window, waiting for the right time to come in. It was an upbeat song – perfect for the adrenaline that was rushing through my veins. The lyrics ran through my mind and off my tongue, perfectly pitched and pronounced. About halfway through the song, I chanced a glance at Ginny, who was watching me. Smiling as much as the situation allowed, I winked at her and continued with the song. _Was that me!_ I had just winked at a girl! What was I doing! I was going crazy! Either that or some of my dad's cocky nature was starting to show.

Suddenly, I realized that I had been singing automatically, and I snapped my attention back to what I was doing. Luckily, no one seemed to notice my mind slip. We got through that song and four others before a tall, white-haired wizard came and asked what we were doing.

"You all need to be in your seats!" he told us. "Now everybody go back to their compartments!" Turning his attention to us, he added, "And no more music, if you please. There's plenty of time for that at school."

As he turned, a boy from Ravenclaw looked back. "Are you going to perform at Hogwarts?"

Before anyone could answer, the wizard shooed him away. Once everyone had left, I took a seat between Seamus and Ginny. "What do you think about that?" I asked, looking around. "D'you think we could do performances at school?"

"When?" Ron wondered. "It's not a bad idea, but when would we do it?"

"I dunno," I replied, shrugging. "We could talk to Dumbledore or something once we get there. I think he'd probably even enjoy it."

Seamus laughed. "I can see him in the middle of all the kids, jumping about with the best of them." We all laughed at the thought.

The rest of the train ride passed in relative calmness. There was a bit of excitement when Seamus accidentally lit a fireball in the middle of the room, but Hermione was there to stop it right away.

Once we got to the castle, Seamus and Dean went in a separate carriage, leaving Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and I. Now, I'm not one to start rumors, but I'd been noticing something about Ron and Hermione lately. My assessment is that they're crazy about each other, but neither one will admit it. Not that I blame them. Frankly, I was amazed that I was even admitting to myself that I liked Ginny as more than a friend. Now, however, I was beginning to feel like there was no reason not to tell – or show – other people what I thought of her. Smiling slightly, I walked into the Great Hall feeling like the world was on my side – a feeling that doesn't happen very often, I can assure you.

**Ginny**

I have to say, I didn't pay attention to the Sorting very well. My mind kept drifting back to when Harry had helped me through the crowd. I think my feet actually lifted off the floor for a while! And then, during the first song that they played, he winked at me – and I was now fairly certain that he wasn't just being friendly. The fact that he had winked at me kind of threw me off a little bit, since he wasn't usually that confident of himself, but I wasn't complaining!

After the feast, I joined my 5th year friends and walked to Gryffindor just behind Harry – uh, behind Ron and Hermione. Now, you should probably understand something about me; before I came to Hogwarts, I'd been around guys all my life. That hadn't changed when I went to school. I preferred the company of guys instead gossiping girls with constant mood swings. Of course, I had a few friends that were girls, but mostly guys.

"Ginny?" Riley waved a hand in front of my face. "You in there?"

"What's that?" I asked, snapping back to reality. I had lapsed back into Harry memories again.

"What're you staring for?" Riley rolled his eyes, and I nearly choked as I realized I had been looking at Harry.

"I, uh-"

"Don't you know?" asked a cold, mocking voice behind me. "Weasely's decided she wants some of Potter's fame."

"Nobody asked you, Malfoy," I snarled, raising a hand to slap him.

"Miss Weasely!" McGonagall had spotted me. "No violence in the halls, if you please!"

Malfoy disappeared, chuckling, and I glared after him. "Use your wand next time," Alex suggested, and I smiled slightly.

"So, Ginny, are you checking out Potter now?" asked Andrew, the fourth member of our crew, and probably the closest friend I had. He was six or seven inches taller than me (not a great feat, I can assure you) and had a quick sense of humor, but could be serious when the situation called for it.

"Are you jealous?" I asked, grinning to let him know I was joking.

"I guess it's just not going to work between us," he said, shaking his head.

"Come on, Gin, you know you're secretly in love with me." Alex put his arm around me, and I laughed. It was an ongoing joke between us that I was madly in love with him, even when he had a girlfriend.

"That's right, Alex, this is all an act to trick you," I replied, and just at that moment Harry glanced back. My voice froze up as I realized he saw Alex's arm around me. I knew he had seen it; I could see where his eyes went.

"Uh oh, Alex, looks like you just made a mess between Gin and Harry." Riley shook his head. "Harry's gonna think she's cheating on him."

"What're you talking about!" I exclaimed. "We're not going out, Riley!"

"Not yet, you aren't," Riley grinned. "I was there at the little concert on the train, and I saw the wink." My ears turned red and I suddenly didn't have a response.

"You better go apologize, Alex," Andrew teased as we climbed through the portrait to Gryffindor. I had to leave the conversation there to go to the girl's dormitories, but I sneaked one last glance at Harry before I went up the stairs.

"I saw that, Ginny!" Riley yelled.


	5. Discussion

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters you recognize.

**Hermione**

Even with my preoccupation with Ron, I had noticed something going on between Harry and Ginny. On the train, I had seen Harry "rescue" Ginny from the crowd, then wink at her. Quite honestly, I was astonished. I mean, this was the guy that could barely ever speak to a girl without forgetting his brain! Other than me, that is. However, I also saw the expression on his face after seeing one of Ginny's friends walking with his arm around her. Talk about a mess. It was just lucky that Ron wasn't quite as observant. Well, that's putting it mildly. It's like he forgets to use those things called eyes.

"Hermione!" I was greeted loudly by the girls in my dormitory.

"Hello, everyone," I said cheerfully, sitting down on my bed. As I got ready for bed, I half-listened to the conversation flying around me. Truthfully, I never really enjoyed being around girls as much as guys. Too much stress. I climbed into bed soon, and thought about the cute couple that Ginny and Harry would make. As I fell asleep, however, my thoughts drifted to a certain red-haired boy I knew.

**Ron**

The next morning, Harry was already ready to go down to breakfast when I got up. "Why aren't you sleeping, Harry?" I mumbled as I tried to get dressed with my eyes closed.

"I dunno, couldn't sleep," Harry replied, sitting in an armchair and trying to look casual. I grinned. Now, Hermione might think I'm an absolute blockhead when it comes to noticing things, but this had been too big even for me to miss.

"Too busy thinking about Gin?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder to see his reaction. His composure slipped just a bit, then he shrugged and smiled.

"Possibly."

I laughed. "It's about time. I've been waiting for the two of you to get together since her first year, you know."

"Liar. You didn't even think about the possibility."

"Well, it wasn't very often," I replied with a smile. "Are you going to ask her out?"

"Dunno," Harry answered, and I frowned.

"What do you mean! Hermione would probably slap you if she was here right now!"

"D'you think she'd want to? I mean, she hasn't really said anything about me since about third year." I turned to see if he was serious. He was.

"Harry, are you crazy? Didn't you see her face when you brought her through the crowd?"

He shrugged. "Nope." I rolled my eyes. And Hermione thought _I_ was thick.

**Harry**

I knew Ron probably thought I was incredibly stupid. I mean, even I was reasonably certain that Ginny would've liked to have gone out with me, until last night. I didn't think she had a boyfriend, but when I looked back while we were walking to Gryffindor, some little fifth year boy (who had three or four inches on me) had his arm around her. That was what kind of shook my confidence. I guess I should've found out about whether or not she had a boyfriend before I set my sights.

As I walked through the Common Room with Hermione and Ron, Ginny and her friends were just going out of the portrait. Ron nudged me and grinned, and I just shook my head, my ears starting to burn a little. To my relief, Seamus called to us from the top of the stairs.

"Hey, are we going to talk to Dumbledore today?" he asked.

"I guess so," I shrugged, glancing at Ron. "Are we all going to get together and talk to him, or should just one of us go?"

"I don't think there's really a reason for all of us to go," Seamus replied, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "I vote you go. You're the lead singer."

"What's that got to do with anything?" I asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Lead singer, sing leader," Ron grinned. "You're our leader now. First act of business: schedule our performances."

"Exactly," Seamus added, returning to the dormitory.

"Alright, then, I'll talk to him later today," I said. I didn't really mind being elected spokesperson. I guess it even gave me a little bit of stature, to be leader of our band. Not that I wanted to impress any fifth years that walked around with guys at least as tall as Ron and definitely taller than me. Nope. Didn't even cross my mind.


	6. Concert?

A/N I'm back here too.

**Ginny**

When I walked into the Dining Hall, I was sort of hoping Harry would be there. I wanted to explain what had happened with Alex last night, even though I didn't know how to explain it without making a fool of myself. Once I saw that he wasn't there, I forced myself to think of something other than him. I did pretty good at it all through breakfast, too. I didn't even notice when he came in, but I saw him as we walked out. Andrew, who was walking next to me, nudged me and grinned.

"Don't worry, Ginny, we won't let Alex walk next you," he teased. Alex looked at me with puppy eyes.

"It's almost like they don't like me, Gin," he said with a pitiful expression. I laughed.

"It's ok, Alex, I still love you," I joked. He bent down like he was going to hug me, then went in my bag and took out one of my books. "Hey wait, no fair!" I protested. He held it above his head, grinning.

"Jump!" he said.

"You wish! I don't even come up to your shoulder!"

"Do you need a boost?" Riley asked, laughing.

"You're one to talk, Riley, you're barely taller than me!" I retorted, dropping my bag and pointing my wand at Alex. I was about to make a threatening remark when Andrew called out.

"Oy, Harry!"

I spun around, amazed to see Harry walking towards us – without Ron. I didn't realize I still had my wand raised until Harry took it out of my hand with a smile, sticking it in my bag.

"Hey," Harry said, "Andrew, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Andrew replied, pulling Alex's hand (still holding my book) out of the air. "Someone was saying you guys that were on the train are doing a concert of some sort."

"Well, we're going to try," Harry answered, "I'm going to see Dumbledore right now to see if he'll let us, so there's nothing sure yet."

"Cool," Alex said with a mischievous grin. "We saw you on the train and thought it was pretty good."

"Thanks," Harry said, and I couldn't decide if he knew what Alex was talking about or not. "I'll tell you guys what's happening once I find out."

"Ok, we'll see you around, then," Andrew replied, and Harry nodded and turned to walk away. I could have sworn he looked at me for a second or two before he left. Once he was well out of earshot, I turned back to the guys.

"You guys are so impossible," I said, doing my best to act like the event hadn't affected me at all. Alex grinned.

"You should see your ears, Gin, I can feel the heat from over here," he said, laughing. I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Boys."

**Harry**

That had to be the most incredibly awkward position I've been in for a really, really, _really_ long time. I half-wanted to pull my wand out on the guy that I'd seen hugging Ginny, but that would've been a bit uncalled for. I hoped that I had handled it ok; I'd done my best to act completely normally. I was replaying the whole scene in my head when I realized that I had come to a stop in front of a gargoyle, and the gargoyle was stepping to the side. Dumbledore stood behind it.

"Are you alright, Harry?" the headmaster asked. "You've been standing there for a few minutes."

"Uh…" I swallowed, feeling my face start to burn. Why was I here again? Oh yeah, the band. "Well, I was just – I don't know if you heard about it, but my friends and I have started a band, and-"

"Oh yes, I heard all about the uproar you caused on the train," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Come into my office so we can discuss matters with fewer listening ears."

I followed Dumbledore inside, suddenly aware of the people gathering in the hallway. Once we were in the office, Dumbledore sat behind his desk and gestured to a chair. "You seem to have made quite an impression on the students," Dumbledore observed, leaning back in his chair. "Who is in this band that's become so popular?"

"Well, there's Dean, he plays the drums, then Seamus is the lead guitar, and Ron is the bass," I explained, "and I'm the singer."

"Singer?" Dumbledore nodded,m hiding a slight grin. "You've got some hidden talents. Now, I assume you haven't come simply to inform me that you've formed a band."

"Right," I said, sitting up a little more in the chair. "Someone suggested that we have a performance here at the school, and it seemed like a good idea."

"A performance?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, smiling slightly. "It would be a rather large event to gather all the students for a performance. All those who want to come, I suppose I must add. Don't you think?"

"Er –" This wasn't quite what I had expected.

"Yes, yes, it would. I don't suppose you boys have two or three hours of music?"

Two or three hours? _We aren't the Weird Sisters! At least, not yet._ "No sir."

"Well then, it's settled. We'll call it a dance. You boys can play for as long as you like, then we'll see if we can't get some other songs playing for the rest of the time."

Dumbledore sat there with his eyes practically dancing while I tried to pull it all in. A dance at _Hogwarts?_ That just wasn't normal. Then again, it would give us a rise in popularity, not to mention . . . I tried to become businesslike as soon as my thoughts turned to Ginny. "Good," I said. "Er, right, that would be wonderful, Professor."

"Good," he said, smiling. "Now, I daresay you boys will want to practice. Just be sure that you don't let it get in the way of your schoolwork."

I thanked him and walked out of the room, grinning. This was definitely the right way to start the year. Even as I hurried towards Transfigurations, which meant an essay for sure, my spirits were high. I slipped into the classroom just in time and took my seat at a table with Dean, Ron, and Hermione, with Seamus right behind us.

"How'd it go?" Ron muttered as McGonagall began her first lecture of the year.

"He's setting up a dance where we can play as long as we want, then they'll have other music to take over," I said very quickly under my breath.

"YES!!" Seamus said loudly. McGonagall fell silent, and the entire class stared at Seamus's reddening face. It wasn't long before there were a few snorts of suppressed laughter, then a burst of noise from the students. McGonagall calmed the class as quickly as she could, throwing more than one dirty look in Seamus's direction. As she started her lecture for a second time, I found my mind wandering to a red-headed girl that I was already planning to ask to go with me to the dance.


	7. Question!

**Ron**

The news of the dance had spread like wildfire. I wasn't sure if I was more nervous about performing in front everyone in Hogwarts, or asking Hermione to go with me to the dance. That had been the first thing I thought of when Harry told us, but my stomach and my tongue both tied in knots every time I tried to do it. In order to avoid thinking about it, I occupied myself with replaying our songs over and over in my head, engraving it all in my mind. We held practices almost every night, the new atmosphere inspiring a rush of new songs. Since we wanted to be fresh and original on the night of our debut, Harry Imperturbed the door for each of our practices. This led to some conversations that certainly wouldn't have occurred if anyone could have heard us.

"So when are you going to ask Hermione?" asked Dean, reclining on the stool of his trap set. "Dumbledore only gave you six weeks to stall."

I felt my ears start to burn, and I shrugged, attempting to keep looking cool by strumming a few chords. "I dunno. Sooner or later." Was it really that obvious that I liked her? "Who are you going with?"

"Haven't decided. There's a wide ocean to choose from. What about you, Seamus?"

"Lavender," Seamus grinned. "Asked her right after class that day that you told us. Are you asking Cho, Harry?"

Harry cringed in mock horror at the joke. Everyone knew that Cho had gone slightly mental after being rejected by Cedric, no matter how nice Cedric had been about it. She had come onto Harry with an enthusiasm that frightened away every boy in the school – except, of course, Roger Davies.

"Seriously, though," Dean said after a good laugh. "Who are you asking?"

Harry shrugged, not quite meeting any eyes. "Maybe I'll just go along for the ride."

He was met with hoots of derision, and I decided it was time for me to step in. "Come on, Harry, we all know there's one girl in this school that's got you on a string."

Harry gave me such a look that I had to laugh, which only increased his look of exasperation. The ribbing from Dean and Seamus increased tenfold, and Harry picked out a few notes on his bass without speaking. Finally, he pulled the strap over his head, Unperturbed the door, and walked out. The room got very quiet as we all stared after him.

"What's up with him?" Seamus asked, bewildered. I began to realize that I shouldn't have said anything. Maybe Hermione really was right about me being a blockhead.

_"Is _there somebody?" Dean wondered, turning back to me. Unsure of what to say, I shook my head and stood up to follow Harry out. I had no idea what was going on with him.

**Harry**

I shouldn't have gotten so irritated, but I was sick of people being more interested in my life than their own. I can't count the number of times people have started completely ridiculous rumors about my social life. Seamus and Dean weren't asking just so they could spread it, I knew, but it would get out anyway. When the word got out about Ginny, I wanted it to be on my terms.

I heard Ron coming down the stairs, but I didn't want to have to confront him right then, so I turned and hid in the nearly invisible closet under the stairs.

"Excellent, are you playing too?"

My head banged the ceiling as I turned hurriedly, and my eyes watered as I clapped a hand to the rising bump. Ginny's friend, the really tall one that I didn't like, was standing in the back of the closet. I tried to register what he had said through the pain and the urge to punch him in the face. "Playing?"

"Yeah," the boy said cheerfully. What was his name? Andrew? No, that was the other one…Alex! "Sardines. Come on, try a round."

"What-" I started, but Alex shushed me, pointing at the door. I heard footsteps walk by the closet, then return. The door opened, and Andrew came in, shutting the door carefully behind him.

"Did you get Harry and Ron to play too?" Andrew asked.

"Ron?" Alex raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you hiding from Ron?"

"No! Just – it's not – ach, forget it," I said, waving a hand and exiting the closet. "Play nice. Don't make me sic Hermione on you."

I shut the door and turned to walk away, colliding head-on with Ginny. "Sorry," we said together, then laughed nervously. What did she have to be nervous about?

"I think Ron's looking for you," Ginny said. "He just went left the Common Room."

"Right," I replied, trying to think of a slick way to get onto the subject of the dance. Instead, I said, "What are you guys playing?"

"Sardines," Ginny said with a smile. She had dimples, I noticed. "It's like hide-and-seek, only one person hides and everyone else seeks."

"Oh." My brain had ceased to work. I stood there for a moment, trying to force my tongue to say what I wanted to. It didn't happen. "I guess I should go find Ron."

"Yeah," Ginny answered, looking down at her shoes and shuffling slightly. Even after I had said that, I couldn't make my feet move. Great. I couldn't talk, and I couldn't move. What was I supposed to do now?

"Want to go to the dance with me?"

Well, that solved that problem. I didn't even remember deciding to say anything.

"Sure," Ginny said, smiling. It was a cute smile. I was sorely tempted to kiss it, but at that moment, the closet door flew open. Andrew and Alex leapt across the room and began shaking both my hands, congratulating me profusely and slapping me on the back. Dean and Seamus practically fell out of the stairwell and joined in the cheer. Ginny beat back Andrew and Alex, and I disentangled myself from Dean and Seamus, shouting that I needed to go find Ron. I was almost overwhelmed by the sudden fray I had created; but, as I left the Common Room, I felt a grin spread across my face. I was going to the dance with Ginny.

Turned out I had calculated the speed of gossip around Hogwarts incorrectly; I never would have guessed that someone would ask if it was true I was going out with Ginny before I even found Ron.


End file.
